Praise When Praise is Due

09/16/2009

The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story.
Ursula K. Le Guin

Richard Weissbourd, writing in Work & Family Life (September 2009) observes that it matters how parents praise...

"Praising children in the service of happiness and self esteem has important benefits but it can become excessive. Children thrive on praise when it is sincere and connected to specific accomplishments, but they know when they've truly accomplished something. Too much praise connected to tiny accomplishments can make them wonder why adults need to always prop them up.

"Children who are praised too much also feel continually judged. Research by Carol Dweck, Ph.D., suggests that overly praised kids become more conscious of their image, more competitive, and more prone to cut others down. And too much praise can hook kids on it: they require higher and higher doses of compliments and feel like there's something wrong when they aren't being bombarded with kudos."

Staff Training Tools on Sale

Run a professional development training session with Exchange's popular Out-of-the-Box Training Kits — that are on sale this week on our web site (online version only). An article from Exchange magazine serves as the foundation for each Kit and is included as a handout. Each Kit includes step-by-step instructions to prepare, conduct, and evaluate your training session. They are also flexible enough to allow you to include your own ideas and exercises to meet any special needs of your staff. The 60+ Out-of-the-Box Training Kits include the following ones focusing on working with parents:

Family Conferencing: Developing Trust
Belonging: Including Children of Gay and Lesbian Parents — and All Children — in Your Program
Family Conferencing: Asking and Listening
Preparing Parents for Change
Making Families Welcome

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For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.